maal

maal¹ time, occurrence

Pronunciation

• /maːl/^[1]

Forms

maal f (plural malen, diminutive maaltje n)^[1] In this sense the noun is neuter or feminine; the feminine already occurs in Middle Dutch, then with the form male.^[2][3]

Etymology

The word for a time or occurrence is inherited from Middle Dutch mael (“moment, point in time”), inherited from Old Dutch *māl, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *māl, inherited from Proto-Germanic *mēla- (“point in time”).^[4][1][5] The same word is Old Saxon māl (“point in time”) (Middle Low German māl), Old High German māl (“point in time”) (modern German Mahl (“meal”) and Mal (“time”)), Old Frisian mēl (“meal”) and ⟨-mēl⟩ “time” (West Frisian miel), Old English mǣl (“measure, occasion, meal”) (English meal), Old Norse mál (“time, meal, measure”) (Swedish mål) and Gothic 𐌼𐌴𐌻 (mēl, “hour, time”).^[4][5][6] Vercoullie notes that the sense “point in time” is found in all the Germanic languages, but the sense “occasion, once, twice” only in Dutch and German.^[7]

The further origin is disputed.^[8][5] The EWN thinks it probably related to Lithuanian (tuo)mẽl (“without a break”) and thus a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”), the root of meten.^[4] De Vries also favours the root “to measure”, and calls the alternative, that the word is the same as the Germanic word for a “mark, spot”, highly improbable.^[8] Franck–Van Wijk start from that very sense, “sign, point”, applied to a point in time, which they derive either from the root “to measure” or, as a “coloured mark”, from the family of Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black”);^[6][5] Kroonen leaves both options open.^[6][5] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal likewise takes “point, mark” as the basic sense.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Van der Sijs dates the sense “a recurring point in time, occasion” to 1246.^[9] The early Middle Dutch records use mael mostly in phrases of time: van dien male “from that moment” (1270–1290), sider die male “since then” in Holland charters of 1288, te desen male “at this moment” and te dien male “at that time” in texts of 1276 and 1285.^[4][10]

Semantic evolution

From “moment” the word came to mean one of a series of occasions: telken male “each time” is recorded in 1292.^[4] Many phrases with a preposition kept the old sense “time”, and te eenen male came to mean “entirely”, a sense still found in ten enenmale.^[2] ’s Maals (Middle Dutch smaels) “per time, each time” was still in use in the 16th century.^[2] The word is also used in multiplication: a text of 1625 gives a girl drie seven jaer, “three times seven years”, and the modern language says drie maal zeven and writes the sign ×.^[2][3]

A special use of the word was the time at which cows are milked, recorded from 1726.^[2][9] From it came the quantity of milk taken from a cow at one milking.^[2][9] Dutch passed the word to Negerhollands (mal) and Berbice Dutch (mali), and it lives on in Afrikaans maal.^[11][1]

Timeline

• 1246 – The sense “a recurring point in time, occasion” is first recorded.^[9]
• 1270–1290 – Van dien male “from that moment” is recorded.^[4]
• 1288 – Holland charters use sider die male “since then”.^[10]
• 1292 – Telken male “each time” is recorded.^[4]
• 1625 – Drie seven jaer “three times seven years” shows the multiplying use.^[2]
• 1726 – The sense “milking time” is first recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A time, an occasion: one of a series of recurring moments at which something happens.^[12][3][1]
2. (mathematics) Times, multiplied by, in stating a product.^[12][3]
3. The multiplication sign (× or ·).^[3]

Word family

• allemaal
• etmaal
• eenmaal
• tweemaal
• driemaal
• andermaal
• nademaal
• namaals
• voormaals
• toenmaals
• eenmalig
• toenmalig

maal² meal

Pronunciation

• /maːl/^[1]

Forms

maal n (plural malen, diminutive maaltje n)^[1]

Etymology

The word for a meal is inherited from Middle Dutch mael, inherited from Proto-Germanic *mēla-, the same word as ⟨maal⟩ “time, occurrence”.^[4][5] The sense shifted from “point in time” through “the time of the meal” to the meal itself, as it did in German Mahlzeit.^[4] The shift happened in several Germanic languages: māl already had the sense “meal”, and so did Old Frisian mēl, Old English mǣl (English meal) and Old Norse mál (“time, mealtime”).^[6][4][5] Middle Dutch also formed the compound ⟨maltijt⟩, modern maaltijd, which has largely replaced the simple word.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, from Ghent in 1253, is a charter saying that the bailiff and aldermen must for this reason be given .i. mael, “one meal”.^[4][10] The compound maltijt follows in a text of 1270–1291, where a man may bring his guests ter maltijt, “to the meal”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal gives three uses: the time of eating, the food eaten at one time, and the act of eating; a quotation of 1600 speaks of kostelijcke malen, “costly meals”.^[2] By the early 20th century the simple word was, outside compounds, either very homely or unusually formal, and maaltijd had taken its place in everyday language.^[2] In West Flemish it could also mean the amount of fodder given to an animal at one time, and the feminine male a fair or a tip.^[2] Compounds name meals by time and occasion: avondmaal, middagmaal, feestmaal, galgenmaal.^[2]

Timeline

• 1253 – Mael “meal” is first recorded, in Ghent.^[4][10]
• 1270–1291 – The compound maltijt “meal” is recorded.^[4]
• 1285 – Van der Sijs dates the sense “meal” to a rhymed Bible text of this year.^[9]
• 1600 – Kostelijcke malen “costly meals” are mentioned.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A meal: the act of eating at the regular times of the day; maaltijd.^[12][3][13]
2. The food eaten at such a meal.^[12]

Word family

• maaltijd
• avondmaal
• middagmaal
• noenmaal
• nachtmaal
• feestmaal
• galgenmaal
• gastmaal
• doodsmaal
• liefdemaal